The Subdivisions of Saudi Arabia, officially the Organization of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as provided by the Regions' System, issued on 27 Sha'baan 1412 AH (civil calendar: 28 February 1992) by Royal Order A/92, amended by Royal Order No. A/21 on 30 Rabi' al-Awal 1414 AH, divided the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia into 13 emirates (provinces/regions); the 13 provinces further divided into 118 governorates, classified category (A) or category (B); the 118 governorates divided into a number of centers, category (A) and category (B), taking into consideration the housing, geographical, security, transport, environment and historic conditions of each region.[1][2][3]
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is divided into 13 emirates (Arabic: إمارات, romanized: Imārāt sg. Arabic: إمارة, romanized: Imārah) or regions/provinces (Arabic: مناطق, romanized: manāṭiq), each governed by a governor or emir (Arabic: أمير, romanized: amīr, lit. 'prince'),[1] known as the Provincial Governor, to differentiate them from the governors of governorates. These are:
The 13 emirates are further divided into 118 governorates (Arabic: محافظات, lit. 'muḥafazāt' sg. Arabic: محافظة, lit. 'muḥafazah'), each governed by a Governor (Arabic: محافظ, romanized: muḥāfiz). Of these, 13 are capital governorates (Arabic: أمانات, romanized: amānāt sg. Arabic: أمانة, romanized: amānah) governed by a Mayor (Arabic: أمين, romanized: amīn).
